On-call mobile communications demand compact, high-performance electronic systems. Many of these systems are being deployed in high-volume applications, such as hand-held phone sets and satellite TV receivers, where improved packaging efficiencies and capabilities at low cost are crucially important. Adopting a highly-integrated design, one that employs compact packaging and monolithic circuits, is one way to ensure meeting these requirements. The MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) and micromachining technologies offer viable potential solutions to the challenges in these critical communications device areas.
Many current electronic communication designs employ hybrid technology, wherein discrete components such as individual transistors, diodes, resistors, capacitors, and inductors, are bonded or soldered to one or more interconnected microelectronic substrates. This hybrid approach necessarily involves many interfaces and connections, leading to increased potential for impedance mismatch or signal loss, with associated increasing size, complexity and reduced reliability. Integrating components and interconnections onto a single substrate enhances performance by eliminating such circuit interfaces to reduce signal losses while also achieving a light-weight, compact design.
One device routinely needed in a wide variety of microelectronic applications is the electrical switch. There have been many types of electrical switches made, including electronically activated toggle and rotary electrical switches. Also, large discrete electromechanical rotary switches have been used for years.
MEMS gears with bearings have also been fabricated. A MEMS bearing is a hub support structure upon which is rotated a member that is raised and supported above the surface of a substrate. One such rotating member is a gear rotating unidirectionally in a plane parallel to the surface of the substrate. MEMS gears have not been fashioned into rotating switches, rotating in a plane parallel to the surface of the substrate. However, orthogonal electrical MEMS switches, with members moving orthogonal to the plane of the substrate have been fabricated. One such orthogonal electrical MEMS switch comprises a flexing cantilever structure extending above a substrate surface, comprises an electrical field generating structure suspended above the substrate, and comprises a plurality of contact points on the substrate below the cantilever structure. As the electrical field is varied, the cantilever structure flexes orthogonally to the plane of the substrate to bring the flexing contact structure on to the substrate surface to any one of the contact points to thereby make an electrical switch connection with any one of the contact points to the flexing contact structure. As the electrical field is unidirectionally varied, the flexing contact structure flexes in an amount depending on the strength of the electrical field. During electrical contact, the flexing contact structure is disadvantageously stressed. This and other disadvantages are solved or reduced using the invention.